ASU football coach Todd Graham 'intense' during preparations for Wisconsin

“75 Cent” wants Arizona State football fans to get their $75 worth out of Saturday’s game against No. 20 Wisconsin.

Todd Graham — aka “75 Cent,” which he said he’d like to be cool enough to be known as during the debut episode of the Pac-12 Networks show “The Drive” on Wednesday night — gave a passionate speech to the team after practice Thursday at Sun Devil Stadium.

“What I was telling the guys is, ‘We’ve got 14 steps, and we’ve accomplished one,’” Graham said. “How significant is this one? It’s huge. I’m much more intense (during the week), because it’s about preparation. That’s the key to winning.

“This is a very, very important game (particularly for the seniors), who have been able to adapt and change more than any group I’ve ever had. I’ve got confidence in our guys. They’re going to play well.”

ASU (1-0) is a 5 1/2-point favorite over the Badgers (2-0).

The Sun Devils are just 5-38 against Associated Press-ranked opponents since 2000. That does not include last year’s win over Arizona, ranked No. 24 in the BCS but not in the AP poll.

ASU defeated No. 21 Missouri and No. 23 USC in 2011. The Wisconsin game will be close to a sellout at the 71,706-seat stadium.

Graham said 75 Cent is his “rap handle. I know it’s 50 Cent; I just bust their chops.”

“I started laughing hard when I saw that last night,” safety Alden Darby said “I forgot to bring that up to him; I’m going to do it tomorrow. He’ll be fine with it. He’s a cool guy.”

Tillman jersey

Linebacker Chris Young was among three defensive players wearing the Tillman jersey signifying on- and off-field excellence Thursday. Darby and cornerback Osahon Irabor are the others.

“He (Young) has been close to earning it,” Graham said. “Carl (Bradford) is close. Darby is back in.

“It’s not just about what they’re doing on the field, it’s about what they’re doing in the classroom. We’ve got three guys, that’s a good sign. If you look out here and there’s five or six, we ought to have one heck of a defense. Keeping them on there it going to be a challenge.”

Sun Devil Club

The Sun Devil Club is launching a campaign called Be The Solution in an effort to increase its membership to 10,000 by ASU’s home game against USC on Sept. 28. As of Thursday, there were just under 9,000 members.

“The fan base in our community represents a competitive edge to Sun Devil athletics that has not been captured to its potential in several years,” Sun Devil Club President Gregg Tryhus said. “We believe there are many fans who would be willing to take at least limited ownership of the community’s responsibility to help make that happen.”

ASU’s athletic budget is approximately $60 million, which ASU says ranks in bottom third of the Pac-12 and is the lowest of schools consistently in the top 25 of the Directors’ Cup, a national ranking of athletic department on-field success.

Sun Devil Club membership is as low as $100 annually. Fans have the option of using their membership fee specifically toward any of ASU’s 22 varsity sports.

“We want to allow fans to get involved in a way that fits their passion and in an area they care about,” Senior Associate Athletic Director Rocky Harris said.

Information: thesundevils.com/bethesolution or 480-727-7700.

UP NEXT

Who: ASU (1-0) vs. Wisconsin (2-0)

When: Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe.

TV: ESPN (Dave Pasch, Brian Griese)

Radio: 92.3 FM KTAR (Tim Healey, Jeff Van Raaphorst).

Noteworthy: ASU is 16-14 all-time against teams from the Big Ten, 13-4 against Big Ten teams in games in Tempe. ... ASU is 2-1 all-time against Wisconsin. The Sun Devils lost 20-19 in 2010 in Madison, while sweeping a pair of games in 1967 and 1968.

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